252 When the Fire Priests recognized the effectiveness of deer blood and the two treatments were combined, the momentum of the plague began to decrease significantly.
Then at some point.
“It’s a medicine made mainly from deer blood and Lethe grass. It’s definitely more effective than just drinking blood!”
“Good! Very good! Very good!”
As Gilbert succeeded in developing a treatment, the treatment of patients rapidly accelerated. Furthermore, as the gruesome sight of drinking deer blood disappeared, the priests also began to ease their burden and focus only on treatment.
As a result.
The plague, which began in the middle of winter, achieved the feat of disappearing in just three months before the busy farming season even began.
“Thank you for your hard work, Bishop Ilia.”
“No. It’s all thanks to Your Majesty’s clever actions.”
“I guess the priest knows how to flatter too much.”
“That’s too much flattery. Look around, Your Majesty.”
Eli smiled and pointed behind him.
In the wide field behind her, there was a crowd of people waiting to see off Logan and his group, who had decided to return with the assurance that the plague was over.
Of course, Logan was not thoughtless enough to forcefully mobilize the residents of Raftan Territory, who were suffering from the plague, to see them off.
In other words, this scene was solely caused by the will of the people of the territory.
Naturally, as soon as Logan’s eyes turned to them, cheers erupted from everywhere.
“Look here!”
“thank you!!”
“Long live His Majesty the King!”
“Long live the Kingdom of McLane!”
As the cheers that suddenly exploded like thunder shook the entire field, smiles naturally formed on the faces of Logan and the rest of the group.
The sincere gratitude of the people, which seemed to be over 10,000 people at first glance, had the power to make even some of the priests who grumbled throughout the period they were dispatched laugh.
“It’s all thanks to the hard work of the bishops and priests. As soon as I return, I will make a generous donation to Amunda’s temple.”
From soldier training costs and equipment purchases to magic water farming and dam construction.
The king’s face was full of leisure after completing all the most expensive work.
however.
“I hope you will pay more attention to your people rather than donating to the temple, Your Majesty.”
“That’s natural, but besides that…”
“The people are groaning because of the heavy taxes, Your Majesty. The busy farming season is about to begin, and it is also the time when the people are the most hungry. If this continues, it won’t be surprising if a plague breaks out again somewhere.”
It seems as if the person has changed since he came.
Logan laughed at the sight of Ilya giving painful direct remarks with a bright smile.
anyway.
‘I’ve almost done all the work that required using the nobles’ taxes.’
Of course, the money had already been used up, but thanks to the magicite mine, there was still enough money to spare.
“…Yes. We will take measures.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Thanks. Of course, that’s what a king should do.”
Instead of answering, Ilya just smiled and lowered her head, and seeing her like that, Logan blurted out his inner thoughts without realizing it.
“Actually, I don’t have a very positive opinion of temples or priests.”
“…yes?”
Ilya tilted her head at that sudden confession.
“Until I saw you.”
At that point, there was no way she wouldn’t understand what he meant, and she couldn’t just laugh, so Ilya responded with an awkward laugh.
“Ah… that’s too much to say, Your Majesty.”
“If you need help from the royal family someday, please feel free to tell me. Even if it is a request from a temple, I will gladly respond to your request.”
“What could a priest ask a worldly ruler for? I will only accept your heartfelt thanks, Your Majesty.”
Logan couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the bishop saying only what he liked until the end.
“You don’t know what’s going on in the world, right? I just think it’s a good relationship and I hope you keep it in mind.”
“…I understand, Your Majesty.”
A time when everything ended well.
The atmosphere in the relief team was bound to be good.
So the group took a sad step forward, receiving cheers from the people.
And behind them were the residents of Raftan Territory, cheering endlessly and waving their hands.
The cheers continued until the moment the relief team disappeared over the horizon.
“Long live His Majesty the King!”
* * * Boom!
“Isn’t that what an improved plague is all about? How did they manage it!”
The harsh shout that came out from under the nervously fluttering black hair made the gorgeous room vibrate.
Cleo, who was prostrate in front of him, could not help but hit her head on the floor while shaking.
thud.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I never expected you to have such a weakness.”
thud.
Second Prince Baros van Ares, who had been gritting his teeth as he watched Cleo repeatedly banging her head, soon slumped down in his seat.
“As long as Logan McLane is involved, nothing goes right!”
Tsk.
The 2nd Prince calmed down his anger by clicking his tongue and letting out a small sigh, then turned his gaze to the right, ignoring the prostrate Cleo.
“Leos. What’s the score now?”
score.
A handsome man with blue hair standing next to me responded to that strange word that suddenly came out with an expressionless face.
“I have intelligence that His Highness the First Prince has accomplished something big in the West.”
“The big one?”
“I could only find out that it was related to the Kingdom of Gaia. Only the ‘recorder’ there and His Majesty the Emperor know the details. However, His Majesty still has the upper hand in terms of ratings.”
“Of course. Hmm…”
A smile appeared on the 2nd prince’s lips again, as if he liked the report.
“What if we use a different plan for McLane?”
“King Logan is making repeated mistakes, except for the plague. Based on the Strategy Department’s judgment, it is clear that fatal aftereffects will occur within a year.”
“So, if you mess with it any further…”
“You won’t get much credit for adding more cracks to a kingdom that is already certain to collapse. As your recorder, I recommend you look at the small kingdom union beyond McLane.”
“Hmm…”
The 2nd prince thought of the king of that small country with red eyes and red hair.
A person who left an uneasy feeling in my heart from the first time I saw him.
It seemed that it was not just because he brought an early end to the civil war he had planned.
A guy I like for no reason.
“I don’t like it….”
“Yes?”
“…he keeps getting caught.”
“Then…?”
“There are no other plagues we can control, right?”
“Your Majesty. The plague is dangerous. If Restavum wasn’t an imperial magic tower…” ”
Yes. It’s an imperial magic tower that’s worse than deer blood. I guess there’s no need to expect it.”
Leos’ eyes slightly wavered at that sarcastic answer.
“Your Highness… As I said, the Kingdom of McLane is for the time being…”
“Ah. I understand enough. But let’s do just one more thing.”
“yes?”
“Isn’t the Strategy Department’s prediction that this guy will over-train his army and then destroy himself?”
“…yes.”
“I don’t think he would be that stupid. Hmm.”
The second prince stroked his chin for a moment and spoke as if something suddenly occurred to him.
“What if he has other sources of funding?”
“Huh? Is that possible? How could a source of funds encompassing national finances pop out like that?…”
“So let’s make an assumption! What if there is one?”
“…Are you saying we assume we have the funds to maintain an army?”
“okay.”
“Even so, the aftermath of the past misfortune will be great. The people who are the foundation of the country will begin to starve and starvation will occur in large numbers. Even if it lasts for a year, the worsening public opinion will make the people refuse to cooperate with the country. That’s the limit of the vision of the king of a small country.”
“Hmm. It’s the limit.”
“The repercussions will continue for decades. He changed the future with just 50,000 soldiers.”
“Then I guess I’m going to buy some food.”
“yes?”
“If he is not as stupid as the Strategic Department thinks and has a source of funds, he will buy food and at least prevent the people from starving to death.”
Leos’ eyebrows twitched at those words.
“If they had intended to do that, they wouldn’t have raised taxes that much in the first place.”
“It’s about creating an army. That’s 1.5 times the average number of troops in our imperial army. It must have required a huge amount of funds in the beginning.”
“…I think Your Highness overestimates King Logan.”
“Is it overrated?”
“Yes. If there was a source of funding to maintain that level of troops in the first place, it would have taken several years to create one.”
Eat.
That was definitely true.
‘Unless he knows our empire’s plans, there is no reason to be in such a hurry. But…’
Strangely, the second prince could not ignore that uneasy feeling.
“Maybe so. But I feel a little uneasy.”
This is what the powerful heir to the throne of the empire wants to do.
In that case, even if the reason was something like ‘steamy…’, the subjects could not raise their voices loudly.
“So let’s do one last thing. Just one.”
Leos could no longer open his mouth due to the 2nd prince’s subtle smile.
Cleo, who was banging her forehead until it bled while the conversation started and ended next to them, could not help but tremble, unable to move from the spot.
* * *
“Gilbert. What do you think is the cause of the plague?”
“Your Majesty. As I said before, in our healer’s guild, there are germs…”
“Except for those germs.”
Gilbert’s expression, which had been smiling after receiving Logan’s promise of full support, hardened slightly.
“I… I…”
Logan, seeing that hesitant expression, smiled and said instead.
“Does this mean starvation and poor hygiene?”
Looking at Gilbert, who had a vain and surprised expression on his face, Logan couldn’t help but let out a small sigh.
“The taxes are too heavy. I know this because I did it. I have no intention of blaming you for that, so if you have anything to say, say it.”
“Yes. Actually, that is the most important thing. In the past, there was a plague called Festian…”
“It was caused by people who were tired of starvation and eating rats?”
“…How do you know so well?”
Looking at Gilbert’s shocked expression, Logan made up his mind again.
The logical structure that excessive taxes caused hunger and led to epidemics gradually seemed like a certainty.
‘Let’s put the guilt aside. Now…’
It was time to think about measures.
so.
“I plan to at least make sure that no one starves to death every farming season.”
“…yes?”
“Even if I did that, if something like this happens again, I might be in trouble again.”
“I will run whenever your Majesty calls.”
“Yes. I would appreciate it if you could.”
Although Logan had made such a firm decision, the idea was blocked from the beginning during a meeting with his aides after returning to the palace.
“So that the people of the whole country do not starve…. Haha…”
As Dwayne’s expression became blank and flames seemed to bloom in his eyes, Logan flinched without realizing it.
And while glaring at the king, Dwayne spit out each word clearly.
“your majesty. I don’t know if it’s okay to say this.”
“…Do it.”
The moment Logan, pressed by that bloody force, answers in an awkward voice.
“Are you crazy!!?”
A loud roar erupted that echoed throughout the office.
“No way! It’s impossible! It’s absolutely impossible!”
No one could stop Dwayne, who was jumping up and down like he was convulsing.
“A country where all the people don’t starve. Words are good! But that’s not even an empire! Do you think the king’s power is like some kind of god!? The king’s power comes from the budget. Budget!! “I don’t even want to die after spending that much money!”
The loud shouting that continued was already far beyond the etiquette of a subject, but even the strict swordsman just turned his head and looked away and did not blame Dwayne
. It was an unreasonable comment from anyone’s perspective.
Fortunately, this backlash had already been received. Logan, who was expecting it, slightly corrected Dwayne’s words.
This loyal vassal took his words too far.
“I’m not saying that the whole people will starve, but that only the people will starve to death. “Wouldn’t it be possible if we squeezed the budget to that extent?”
At those words, Dwayne, who was still angry at the time, stopped moving.
I wanted to say absolutely not, but thinking about the freedom created thanks to the magicite mine, such words did not come out easily.
I made a momentary calculation:
‘It would be better if my brain was worse.’
Ugh.
Dwayne was tearing out his head and scolding himself.
“If this was going to happen, I shouldn’t have had to pay taxes!” Why was the military created in such a hurry? I told you to make it slowly. Ahhh….”
As he let out a miserable groan, the King, who had been watching his vassal’s reaction for a long time, came up with an unpleasant retort.
“…You mean it’s possible, right?”
Dwayne was dumbfounded. I collapsed into my seat.
